Social media is awash with pristine, Instagram-worthy interiors and it's easy to get caught up following the latest trends. However, when it comes to styling a home, you have to go with what you love.
In our Where I Live series, the ECHO will explore one house from across the region each week, with the owner giving us an insight into how they've made their house a home.
Sarah Norris, 36, bought her Birkenhead house with partner Steve in 2013 for just £80,000. It used to be part of a row of flats built around a tower block, which was later demolished, and is made of solid concrete in a throwback to the 1950s.
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Practicality was priority when it came to getting on the property ladder; the house has great transport links, outdoor space, off-street parking, and is just around the corner from where Sarah grew up. She told the ECHO: "It was well within our budget and I know the area like the back of my hand."
Over the years the family has grown, and as well as two human inhabitants, five rabbits also live at the house; Waffles, Caramel, Marshmallow, Twilight and Jack.
Sarah said: "We were home fosterers for Jackson’s Animal Rescue until last year when we adopted the last two we had been looking after through the pandemic. All new intakes are now looked after at the charity’s North Wales site."
Over five years the couple has fostered ten rabbits on both a long and short term basis. Sarah added: "They all have their own little personalities and quirks, so it’s really sad that although they are the third most popular pet in the UK, they are also the most abused and neglected."
The couple's ex-council house is still a "work in progress" even after nine years. Sarah said: "We’ve slowly worked our way through each room, most of it has been cosmetic. The biggest changes have been to the kitchen and bathroom and the garden.
"We replaced the bathroom and swapped the layout round so we could have a bigger bath, as well as moving the internal wastepipe outside. The kitchen was updated a few years ago and the layout changed from L-shape to a U-shape so we could squeeze in extra storage and a dishwasher."
There's an ode to the family's furry friends in each room and the kitchen even boasts a special rabbit-themed backsplash. Sarah loves "a bit of everything" when it comes to interiors.
"I love some ultra-modern bright white interiors you see on Instagram, but it wouldn’t be practical for us, so we fall more into a cosy lived-in style with some quirky spooky bits. I mix a lot of stuff I’ve been given as gifts with our Ikea furniture and other cute bits I’ve picked up from local shops round Birkenhead, such as Boss Birds Parlour and Mullberrys Magic.
"I’m obviously a bit of a mad bunny lady, so rabbits feature quite a lot throughout the house, and I even went as far as sourcing a rabbit-themed backsplash for the kitchen. The design is 'Wish Me Luck' by a Scottish artist called Jan Laird, who does a lot of highland cow art."
Sarah's number one styling tip is "go with what you love within your budget and try not to follow trends, unless of course you love a particular trend."
To cut down costs, the couple has carried out a lot of work on the house themselves, including demolition.
Sarah told the ECHO: "I had a lot of fun with a chisel and a rubber mallet removing all the tiles. The garden has probably been our biggest labour of love."
As a Wirral native, Sarah is positive about the future of the 'leisure peninsula'. She said: "I’ve seen Birkenhead decline over the last 20 years since I was a kid, but I’m really hopeful that all the different development projects for Wirral Waters that have been going on will come good and the town become more like it used to be. There are definitely worse places to live."
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